


Appletini

by tktktk



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 11:36:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1468030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tktktk/pseuds/tktktk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU continuation of Jeff and Annie's talk at the Inspector Spacetime Convention in Season 4. (Also on FF.net)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Do you want to hang out now? Can I buy you a drink? What do you want?”

“An Appletini.”

“Ugh! God! Don’t make me order that...please?”

“Please?”

 

Reluctantly, Jeff got up to get Annie her drink. It was stupid, but he did feel kind of bad about being such a jerk. “God, these people have really gotten under my skin..” He thought. It was more like Annie had really gotten under his skin. She always did.

 

Up at the bar he ordered her damn Appletini and his single malt scotch, neat. 

“That your wife over there?” The bartender asked, “She’s very beautiful.”

“No, no, she...” He started, but looking over at Annie, sitting on that couch waiting for him, bouncing a bit because, he assumed, she’d won him over, he found himself agreeing, “Yeah...she is.”

The bartender said something else, about that goddamn Thoraxis, but Jeff barely heard him and went for a threatening “Piss off!” to make him shut up.

 

What was it about Annie? How did she always manipulate him like this? Manipulate wasn’t really the right word, he thought. She never did it with malice or really any intention what so ever. Her innate goodness just always seemed to rub off on his innate evilness. He used to hate it. Those disney eyes and the princess voice...and the hair...and the boobs...Wow. He really shouldn’t be thinking about her boobs right now. 

 

He walked back over to her, drinks in hand.

“Milady?” He said, presenting her the green concoction in a martini glass. 

She took it, smiling, “Milord.”

He sat down next to her, putting his arm around the back of the couch, and taking a sip from his glass. He didn’t notice her stiffen a bit when he grazed her shoulders.

“So...” Annie offered, “who was the tall drink of water?”

He laughed, “Are we play acting being in a 50’s noir film now?” She scoffed, but he heard a small chuckle underneath it. She didn’t repeat the question, so he answered,

“Some nerd who thought I was Thoraxis.”

“That was a nerd?” Annie did not seem convinced.

“Well. Not a nerd in the physical sense, I guess. Her ring-tone was Thoraxis’ catch phrase though, so, you be the judge.”

Annie laughed and sighed, “Aww. That’s cute...and kind of creepy. What’s Thoraxis’ catch phrase?”

“Bow down before Thoraxis.” He looked at her, joking, and lifted his eyebrows suggestively. She coughed a bit on the sip she had been trying to swallow before clearing her throat and giving him her trademark slap on the chest.

“Ugh! Jeff! Gross.”

“You say gross, I say destiny.” 

 

She frowned at him, but caught a smirk teasing at the corner of his mouth and realising he was at least sort of joking, began to laugh.

“Well. I’m sorry I ruined destiny,” she said, giving his side a little nudge with her elbow.

“Hey, destiny can’t be ruined...or whatever. Like I even believe in that stuff.” He rolled his eyes and took another drink, but she could tell he was lying just a little bit.

 

 

After going back in to see the gang, and after Jeff put on his show for the crowd, they all went to the hotel’s bar for a few drinks. Minus Shirley and Pierce who hadn’t reserved rooms. Shirley didn’t seem too pleased to have to drive home with a bragging Pierce, but she didn’t have much of a choice. Abed and Troy disappeared early back to Abed’s room to plan the next day, and around 11 Britta headed up too. Jeff and Annie sat at a table, a few drinks in.

 

“Do you think Abed will ever want a girlfriend?” Annie asked, with no prologue.

It caught Jeff by surprise, “Uhh...why? You wanna volunteer?” 

She didn’t catch the jealousy in his voice, and continued on innocently, “No. It’s just weird. Remember when he said women would hit on him? Like he didn’t have to do any work?” Jeff nodded. “I saw it in action, but he never goes on dates. I mean, we kissed before but it wasn’t really Abed doing it...he was...”

“Wait. What? You kissed Abed? When?” Jeff interrupted, and seemed to be raising his voice. Annie looked at him a bit perplexed. 

“Uh...I don’t know...two years ago? It was during paintball. He was being Han Solo, we kinda got wrapped up in the moment I guess.”

 

Jeff’s brain was spinning, and it wasn’t just from the alcohol. He thought about Abed’s mouth on Annie’s mouth and those thoughts led him back to the night of the Transfer Dance. The last time his mouth had been on Annie’s mouth. Was it really that long ago? 

 

“Jeff? Helloo? You okay?” She was waving her hand in his face, he guessed he must have zoned out.

“Yea, yeah. I’m fine. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She seemed unfazed by his mini-freak out and continued, “I guess I’m just curious if Abed’s like asexual or something...I guess that’s not a nice thing to talk about.” She shook her head, trying to shake the curiosity away. It really wasn’t important. “As long as he’s happy I guess.” 

She reached down with her mouth to the straw in her drink, trying to take a sip. Tipsy as she was, she missed a few times before finally settling on it and sucking up ice-water. It was adorable....and sexy. Her lips were so red and he could almost imagine...no. Jeff could feel his heartbeat quicken and he felt hot all over.

“You want a refill?” He choked out. 

 

She looked up at him with a smile and looked back down at her drink. Laughing, she realised it was empty.

Smiling, she said, “Oh no! I’m good. I feel a little light headed, so it’s probably time to stop.”

“You okay? Need to lie down or something?” The look of genuine concern on his face made her feel a little tingly. 

“No, no. I’m fine.”

 

They stared at each other for a few seconds, but it felt like hours. The could both feel this weird heat rising between them, this...tension. It wasn’t awkward silence tension either. Annie glanced down at Jeff’s mouth the moment he licked his bottom lip, and her eyes suddenly felt heavy. Looking back up, she imagined her eyes must look similar to his right now. She couldn’t put it into words, but Jeff could. Their eyes were filled with desire. 

 

He saw her fingers drop quietly from her glass, and slowly inch towards his hand. Different emotions ran through him at once. Confusion, trepidation, anticipation, arousal...he wasn’t sure if he wanted her to take hold of him or not. 

 

He wanted her, sure, he always had. Her play acting from earlier in the day was fresh on his mind though. She was still so young...but it wasn’t that. He was scared. Of losing his friend, of hurting her....and although he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he was pretty afraid of getting hurt himself. At the last minute he pulled his hand away, reaching for his glass and bringing it up to his lips, finishing off his drink. She seemed to come to and grab her hand back, placing them in her lap, a flush rising to her cheeks.

 

Tentatively she glanced up at him and muttered, “Sorry.”

He sighed, and sat back in his chair. Suddenly he remembered something he had wanted to ask her.

“Annie, can I ask you something?”

She looked up, still blushing and managed to squeak out a little, “Sure.”

“What’d you tell the hotel guy our relationship...um...our marriage was like?” He was sincere, and she looked up at him swiftly. She seemed to be blushing even more, if it was possible.

“Um...I don’t know Jeff...does it really matter?”

He swallowed thickly and looked down at his empty glass, “Was it that awful?”

“What? No! It wasn’t awful at all. Why would I pretend to have an awful marriage with anyone?” 

She looked genuinely confused and he felt around for the right words, “I guess...well...whenever I think of marriage, just in an abstract sense, it always ends in crying and pain and...awfulness.”

 

He looked up, expecting an “Aww” or a disney face featuring pity tears, but instead Annie looked a little angry? Why was she angry?

“Jeff.” She said sternly, “Just because you’ve seen marriages end up that way, doesn’t mean they all do. Not all relationships end horribly and tragically. I mean, you and Britta are still friends right?”

“I wouldn’t call that a relationship.” He said sullenly, glancing up at Annie picturing that cute little put-out face, but she looked just as compassionate as before.

 

“Well, maybe it wasn’t a traditional relationship, but it still counts. And what do you think Troy and Britta are gonna do when they break up? Stop talking to each other? No. They’re gonna be friends because they were friends first and would never intentionally hurt each other. That’s love. Bar some unforgivable tragedy, love doesn’t just go away. I mean, look at Shirley! That _was_ an unforgivable tragedy or whatever, and she _still_ loves Andre.”

“What about my parents?” Jeff said, apparently in a rare honest mood. 

 

Annie looked at him sadly, “Oh Jeff,” she said, grasping his hand and giving it a squeeze, “I don’t know enough about it to say for certain...but I guess what I’m trying to say is that sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes terrible things happen, but it has to, to leave room for the good stuff. If you anticipate that everything will be bad, if you never take any risks then...it’s a self fulfilling prophecy. You have to believe in a little bit of good. And I know you can, cause I’ve seen it.”

 

Jeff was suddenly very aware of her hand in his. It felt...good. It felt...right? He wanted to say something dumb, like how cliche she was or that she sounded like a disney movie, but maybe some of that cliche’d bullshit had gotten to him. Or maybe he was just drunk and in the morning he’d be miserable again. Or maybe she was right about everything, because honestly, he wasn’t that drunk.

 

She saw him concentrating on his thoughts a little too hard, and decided to answer his earlier question. 

“You were a lawyer and I was a world famous police detective. Dual careers put a stress on things so we went on a trip so you could...” She cut herself off, realising that the next bit was something she didn’t really want him to know.

Seemingly awakened from his thoughts, Jeff eagerly chimed in, “What? So I could what?”

She hesitated, “Uh...so you could uh...finally see me as...a um...as a...woman?” She choked it out and immediately lay her head on the table, blush once again heating up her face.

 

Instead of the laughter she expected, or the snide comment, she felt Jeff rub his thumb across the back of her hand. 

“Annie. Look at me.” 

She slowly raised her head, but her eyes stayed planted on the table.

“Annie.” He reached out and placed his finger beneath her chin, lifting her head up to look at him. Just like last year when she had made a fool of herself in front of the whole school. She guessed this would end the same way. Some sort of heartfelt statement and a quick brush off.

“Annie...”

“I know. I’m a child for even saying that. I’m sorry.”

“No. You’re not a child.”

 

She looked at him then, searching for a smirk or laughter but his face was serious.

“I’m not?” She whispered.

“That’s why it’s so hard. You were never a child. Remember what I said to you last year?”

She tried to think, but couldn’t remember. She shook her head.

Recalling that night he said, “It’s a crutch. It's a way for me to tell you how important you are from a distance....”

 

Her eyes widened, understanding for the first time and suddenly his face was much closer to hers.

“How important am I Jeff?” She breathed out, barely making a sound.

“I don’t want to lose what we have. This stuff is scary. I’m...scared. Of hurting you....of getting hurt.”

“I won’t hurt you, Jeff.” She felt tears poke at the corners of her eyes, and could feel his breath on her lips.

“Annie...” It came out almost like a moan. “I think I finally believe that.”

 

He closed the gap between them. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2 (Rated M)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took forever, but here's chapter 2, rated M! Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Annie immediately relaxed into Jeff as their lips met. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he clutched her cheek and plied her lips open with his tongue, searching gently.  Her lips felt like heaven against his. It had been too long. 

 

He thought about all those moments over the last 3 years. The week of the debate where he realised, unintentionally, that he was attracted to her. The kiss. On autopilot he had dropped Simmons and turned around to hold her. He had had no control over his brain or body in that moment. He remembered seeing her outside the dance, bags in hand. Telling her about Britta and Slater. How she had taken matters into her own hands, so innocently, and kissed him. How he had no choice but to kiss her back. 

 

He thought about all the times he felt that spark, that heat, and drove it as far down into his subconscious as he could. Using excuse after excuse to keep her at arms length. Somehow it never seemed to work for long. He lied about it and denied it, but then there she was again, waiting with a smile and a kind word. With a kind of encouragement he hadn’t felt in decades.

 

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the small sting of Annie’s teeth against his neck, and then the cool feel of her tongue licking a path up to his jaw. He felt her breath, shaky and hot in his ear before hearing her pleadingly whisper, “Jeff.”

 

He leaned back to capture her mouth with his, quickly pecking her lips. He was met with a look of disapproval when he pulled away from her completely, but he reached out for her hands and gave them a squeeze. Raising his eyebrows and tugging her up with him to illustrate his plans, he saw her mouth turn into a mischievous smile.

 

Almost running towards the elevator, they laughed loudly, a nervous energy coursing through their spines. She reached out just before him and pressed the button, giving him a smirk.

“Beat ya!” 

He grinned and pulled her body flush to his, capturing her mouth once more. 

 

Lost in the moment, they rocked against each other in the hotel lobby. 

 

_*DING*_

 

The elevator door opened and a woman who looked to be in her 60’s stepped out, greeted by Jeff and Annie. Hands on lower backs, tongues in each other’s mouths. She gave a small *tut-tut* and a quiet whistle before shaking her head and walking past them. They broke apart at the sound, and looked down in embarrassment. 

 

Jeff cleared his throat, 

“Um..after you?” he said, making a motion towards the elevator. 

Annie curtsied kind of, (“Did I just curtsy??” She thought to herself, “That’s humiliating..”) and stepped onto the elevator. Jeff followed and reached over, gently brushing her arm, to press the button for their floor. She moved away shyly from him, hands clasped in front of her, and continued staring at the floor.

 

The elevator started moving and there was a thick air of awkwardness. Jeff wasn’t sure what to say. Had the spell been broken? Would she say her goodnights to him and go off to her own room? In the middle of his spiralling anxieties, he heard Annie laugh quietly, like she was trying to hide it. He looked at her, bemused, and they both broke out into laughter. 

 

He side-stepped closer to her, and gently brushed her hand. She looked up at him, a shy smile on her face, and clasped their hands together, breaking into a wide smile. He mirrored her, a toothy smile on his face, as the elevator reached their floor. Another *DING* and the door opened.

 

Walking out into the hallway, hand in hand, he felt nervous. Should they wait? What were they even doing? He was warming to this new idea, of Annie and him maybe becoming _‘Annie and him_.’ An ‘us’ or whatever. Something less cliche and girly, but, together. There were doubts though. He knew there would never be intention to hurt the other, from either side, but that didn’t mean this wasn’t a terrible idea. It could ruin their friendship. It could fuck up the group forever. It could....last. He wasn’t sure what was scarier, but as if she could read his mind Annie spoke out into the silence,

“Self-fulfilling prophecy.” 

She stated it simply, and even though he wanted to ask what she meant, to keep up appearances, he knew. This was a risk they needed to take.

 

He smiled at her warmly, and reached into his back pocket for his room key. He slid it into the locking mechanism on the door, but it wouldn’t open. He tried it again, and again, but each time there was another red light and a buzzing.

“Stupid...fucking...thing..” He said under his breath, now jamming it into the door over and over. Annie stifled a laugh and placed her hand over his in a calming manner. 

She looked up at him, affection pouring out of her features, “Let me try.”

 

She took the card, flipped it around, and slid it into the door, a green light going off and more buzzing as she pushed the handle down, opened the door, and walked inside.

“Well that was dumb.” He said, still standing in the doorway.

She laughed and smiled at him, “It’s okay. Just needed a little help.”  

 

He realised he was a bit shaky, and let out a stuttered breath. He walked into the room, closing the door behind him, and sat on the bed looking flushed.

“Are you okay?” She sounded concerned, and sat next to him, putting a hand on his knee. He felt a tingle shoot up from her touch, eyes shooting up to her face and then straight back down to the floor. He let out another shaky breath, “I...uh...I think I’m nervous?”

He put his hand on hers, lightly stroking the crease between her thumb and forefinger. Now it was her turn to sound breathless as she squeaked out a quiet, “Me too.”

 

He looked at her then, all wide eyed and rosy cheeked. She was so beautiful. He reached up with his free hand to hold her cheek and laid a soft kiss on her lips. She melted into him. Slow exploration soon turning into a heated battle. Three years of pent up tension heightening every movement.

 

She held him tightly, arms wrapped around his neck, and pressed her body flush against his. His hands fidgeted, caught between trying to find the right place and wanting to feel everything. She pushed her weight against him, until he was flat against the bed. Straddling him, she removed her cardigan hastily, attempting to keep in contact with his lips. His hands hovered around her ribcage, and then grabbing on tightly once the sweater was flung across the room.

 

They kissed hungrily, tongues exploring and feeling. Annie’s hands moved to the buttons of his shirt and she started to undo them, one by one.

“Just rip it.” Jeff half-moaned into her mouth, his words coming up mumbled.

She backed away and looked at him, questioning, but also readying her hands to do it.

“Are you sure?” She was breathing heavy, her chest rising and falling quickly. He looked at her, hair askew and flushed, and a trademark sexy smirk appeared on his lips before he growled out, “Absolutely.”

She immediately pulled her hands in opposite directions, letting out a cute little grunt, buttons flying across the room. Her hands grabbed for his chest, caressing him as he pulled her close, smashing his lips against her’s while moans fell from their mouths.

 

His hands fell to her naked thighs as he pushed her dress up and grabbed hold of her hips, thumbs pressing just below the line of her underwear. She whimpered and he eased them under the band, massaging the soft sensitive skin. She pulled away and reached down to pull her dress off completely, flinging it across the room and shaking her head to right the hair that had fallen on her face.

 

She smiled shyly at him, hands lightly pressed to his chest. He looked up at her ample breasts, threatening to release themselves over the top of her bra. She slowly reached behind her, as he watched in awe, and undid the clasp. The straps fell loose and she took hold of the front, pulling it away and letting it drop on the bed. He removed one hand from her hips and slid it upwards, feeling goosebumps emerge under his palm. His hand reached her ribcage and slowly cupped her breast, giving it a light squeeze. She leaned back slightly, as she let out a tiny sigh of pleasure, and bit her lip, enjoying the feel of his hands on her bare skin- finally.

 

He felt himself harden even more, and apparently so did she because at that moment she pressed against him, rolling her hips into his. He let out a guttural cry of pleasure, shutting his eyes. She did it again, and again, moaning at the contact.

 

Suddenly, he flipped them over, pinning her beneath him. She shrieked in surprise, but opened her eyes to look up at him, smiling mischievously, dastardly. He whipped the torn shirt off his body. She giggled and he laughed gruffly before bending his head to kiss her neck. He traced his lips from collar bone to jaw and then licked back down the path, sucking intermittently, spurred on by her increasingly breathy moans. All the while, he kept palming at her breasts. He’d always been fond of them but now, he thought, he liked them even more.

 

He could feel her fumbling around with his belt, trying to undo it and getting distracted every time his teeth made contact with her sensitive skin. He chuckled quietly and sat up. She looked flushed and hot and gave a tiny whimper when he pulled away. He was smiling at her and she started to pout,

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing...I just thought I might help out.” 

He reached down and took off his belt slowly, and then undid the button and the zipper. Her breathing picked up slightly, anxious for him and impatient. Finally, when it was all undone, she pounced on him. He fell back across the bed and she straddled him, kissing him fiercely. His hands moved to her back and into her hair immediately, holding on tightly. He never wanted this to end. 

 

Her hand slipped between them, sliding over his stomach and into the elastic of his boxers. Her hand gripped him and he let out an embarrassingly loud moan. He was a grown man, he’d done this before! But maybe this was different...

 

She stroked him slowly. Their kissing had changed from fast and frenzied, to deep and slow. It was just as hot. He moved his hand from her hair, down slowly, feeling her breast and then lightly fluttering over her stomach. He reached the top of her underwear and slipped his hand under, feeling the light dust of trimmed hair, and moving to massage her clit slowly.

 

She moaned into his mouth and her hand stilled against him. He rubbed gently and moved his fingers down over her entrance, feeling them become slick with her wetness. He groaned at the sensation and moved them upright slowly, and then back down on the bed so he was hovering above her. He kissed her cheek and down to the smooth skin of her neck as he inserted a finger in her folds. She sucked in a breath and her back arched upward, leaning into his movements. He added another finger and thrusted slowly inside of her, thumb coming up to draw circles around her clit. Her hips swivelled against him, egging him on, so he moved his fingers faster. Her moans became quicker and louder as he touched her. She grabbed hold of his biceps, digging her nails in as she let out a final “Oh!” and came. He felt her walls tighten and release and he slowed down but kept touching lightly, helping her down with her orgasm.

 

She grabbed his head in her hands and kissed him fiercely, filled with so much emotion. Her body tingled and her heart felt heavy and full. She released him and reached down for his hand, bringing it up slowly to her mouth. She stared into his eyes and took his fingers, wet with her fluids, into her mouth, sucking slowly from bottom to top. She never broke her eyes from his and his eyes widened. Partly from shock, that ‘sweet little Annie’ wanted to taste herself off his fingers, but mostly from arousal because it was the hottest thing he’d ever seen and it felt amazing.

 

He growled and pulled his hand out of her mouth, hurrying back in for another deep kiss. Then, he took her underwear in his hands and pulled them off of her swiftly, before lying next to her and doing the same with his own. She giggled next to him, and he smiled as he reached for the condom in his wallet. 

“Ah ha!” He said, triumphantly, and he swivelled back around to face her. She laughed again and so did he. She was lying with her hand propped up under her head, smiling at him, absentmindedly running her other hand up and down her thigh. She was blissful. He looked at her and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

 

He put the condom down and leaned toward her, placing his hand over hers on her thigh. He stared into her bright blue eyes, mystified as to how this girl had decided he was someone to care about. She looked so happy. She _was_ happy. So was he.

“You know,” he whispered, “You really are beautiful.”

She blushed, “Thanks Jeff. I’d say ‘back at ya,’ but...you already know that.”

He chuckled, “True... I mean it though. And you know,” he gestured to the condom lying forgotten between them, “we don’t have to...’go all the way’ or whatever. Not that I don’t want to! Obviously...” he laughed self-consciously, “but if you wanna wait...um...I’ll wait.”

 

She smiled, but tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. Oh no, he thought, what’d I do wrong? But that was all he had time to think, because in the next moment she was kissing him. Hand in his hair, she kissed him deeply. He could feel the love she felt for him down to his toes. He tugged her close and held her tightly as they kissed. It was lazy and magical, like kissing someone you spent Saturdays in your pajamas with, someone you knew would be there when you got home; so there was no rush. They stayed that way for minutes. He wanted to do it for hours. 

 

Slowly, her tongue licked into his mouth, subtly urging him on. Her hand crept down his torso feeling every ripple of his muscles, until she finally gripped his cock in her hand, eliciting another groan from him. She stroked him as she turned her body, so that he wound up atop her without even realising what she was doing. He heard her other hand, reach out and grab the condom, so he leaned back, just staring at her, dazed and euphoric, as she opened it and slid it on him.

 

He positioned himself against her, and looked up questioningly. She nodded, eager to continue. He entered her.

 

He went slowly, and she moaned at the feeling of him inside her. They looked into each other's eyes intensely, sharing words and secrets and desires. He had never been fond of this kind of eye contact, but he couldn’t look away. She leaned up and kissed him. He was thrusting slowly but she turned into his ear and whispered a breathless, “Jeff...more..” so he sped up. 

 

The room became hot with their actions. The bed creaked slightly with every thrust and moans filled the room. The unspoken passion of 4 years was released between them. They moved together, each getting closer and closer to climax with every thrust, every caress, every kiss.

 

She was close now so he reached between them and massaged her clit. Her moans became stuttered and he could feel her begin to tighten. His head was buried in the crease of her neck and he could hear her heart pounding in her chest. His name fell from her lips as she crashed around him, throwing her arms around his back and hugging him close to her. She whispered his name like an echo as her orgasm began to subside. He felt himself clench and was suddenly releasing inside her, teeth gritted and with a final grunt.

 

He collapsed atop her, breathing heavily. She pecked at his head, cheek, and shoulders with her lips, soft kisses surrounding and overwhelming him. He gave her shoulder a final, wet kiss and rolled off to the other side of the bed. She moved with him, sidling up close and snuggling against him. She let out a contented little sigh and nuzzled her head under his neck.

 

He laughed, “I’m such an idiot.”

With a start, she sat up and looked at him dismayed, “What??”

Still laughing, he reassured her, “No, no! Not like that. I’m an idiot because...well, we should’ve done that a long time ago.”

She rolled her eyes, “Duh doy! But I don’t know, maybe it’s better this way. Before I would’ve just been a conquest and now...” she trailed off.

“Now...what?” He asked innocently.

She looked at him and blushed, scared to continue, “Um...well...now it...means something?” 

 

She asked it as a question and it made him feel like shit. Of course she’d be wary of wondering what all this meant. He had told her she was important and it had _definitely_ meant something, but he’d done this kind of thing before. Kissed her and told her she was reading into things. Told her he cared about her only to brush her off. He _was_ an idiot. He was _also_ an asshole.

 

He sat up and cupped her chin, bringing her eyes up to look at him. He could see the doubt there, the fear, and he never wanted to see it again.

“It means something, Annie. Of course it means something. It’s always meant something. I’m sorry I could never admit it. I want to be with you....” He gave her a shy smile and then looked thoughtful, “Although, is there a better word than boyfriend? That makes it sound like I’m 15.”

Her eyes began to tear,  but she smiled brightly at him and whispered, “Jeff!” in a little hitch pitched voice. She threw her arms around him and he chuckled, bringing his arms up to hold her tightly. She leaned away from him so, he kissed her again and he knew this wouldn’t be the last time he did it. He wouldn’t go home and berate himself for it and he wouldn’t act like it never happened. Annie made him feel things he thought we’re lost to him. She believed in him and helped him and wanted the best for him. And he felt the same for her. Maybe this was what love is... Guess he was gonna find out.


End file.
